A few years ago I had the opportunity to dig three Japanese black pines from a garden in my area. According to the owner they were 20 years old and were growing in the wrong location. Before seeing them and digging I had an idea in my head that they would be thick trunked short little trees but alas they were growing from under other large trees and were long skinny things with foliage only on the outer branches.

I gave one of the three away and kept two for myself. Of the two I decided I would develop one into a literati style and the other one was left to grow on in a plastic pot.

I call them the twins because they were planted on the same day and then dug on the same day but after a few years of training one, they now look quite different.